Car-Free Fridays along the Riverfront

In celebration of car-free Fridays in Pittsburgh, I took a journey on a rented hybrid along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. The Manongahela, Ohio and Allegheny riverfronts have cleaned up plenty since the days of dirty steel mills.

Friends Britt and Tom Demagall, owners of the Golden Triangle Bike Rental, hooked me up with a map of the area. It provided all the information I needed for day of peddling through Pittsburgh.

Bike culture is growing fast thanks to the efforts of cyclists like Tom. He helps keep the 22-miles of car-free trails clean and maintained. In fact, the loops have made Pittsburgh one of the top cities for urban adventure. There are dozens of historical markers and salvaged steel furnace parts on display along the ride.

Throughout my exploration, I stopped to take photos of Heinz Field, Point State Park, PNC Park, South Side Works and, of course, bridges. From atop Mount Washington via the bike-friendly Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines, I gasped at spectacular vistas of the city. I stopped for lunch at the Redfin Blues on an island called Washington’s Landing. I inhaled a beer-battered fish sandwich on a deck overlooking a busy marina. Kayakers and boaters were launching their toys.

Later in the evening, I met up with a friend at the Gandy Dancer Saloon. Over a tall glass of stout, we read three definitions of a “Gandy Dancer”. No one knows for sure which source is correct but the most plausible comes from the rhythmic movement of railroad work using tools produced by a now defunct Gandy Manufacturing Company of Chicago.

To be continued…

Sonja Stark

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